Pope
Francis' message for World Mission Day 2015
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis' message for the upcoming 89th
World Mission Day which will be marked on Sunday15th of October 2015 has been
released. In the message the Holy Father says, " being a missionary
is not about proselytizing or mere strategy; mission is part of the “grammar”
of faith, something essential for those who listen to the voice of the Spirit
who whispers “Come” and “Go forth”."
Below is the English translation of the Pope's Message
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The 2015 World Mission Sunday 2015 takes place in the context of
the Year of Consecrated Life, which provides a further stimulus for prayer and
reflection. For if every baptized person is called to bear witness to the
Lord Jesus by proclaiming the faith received as a gift, this is especially so
for each consecrated man and woman. There is a clear connection between
consecrated life and mission. The desire to follow Jesus closely, which
led to the emergence of consecrated life in the Church, responds to his call to
take up the cross and follow him, to imitate his dedication to the Father and
his service and love, to lose our life so as to gain it. Since Christ’s
entire existence had a missionary character, so too, all those who follow him
closely must possess this missionary quality.
The missionary dimension, which belongs to the very nature of
the Church, is also intrinsic to all forms of consecrated life, and cannot be
neglected without detracting from and disfiguring its charism. Being a
missionary is not about proselytizing or mere strategy; mission is part of the
“grammar” of faith, something essential for those who listen to the voice of
the Spirit who whispers “Come” and “Go forth”. Those who follow Christ
cannot fail to be missionaries, for they know that Jesus “walks with them,
speaks to them, breathes with them. They sense Jesus alive with them in the
midst of the missionary enterprise” (Evangelii Gaudium, 266).
Mission is a passion for Jesus and at the same time a passion
for his people. When we pray before Jesus crucified, we see the depth of
his love which gives us dignity and sustains us. At the same time, we
realize that the love flowing from Jesus’ pierced heart expands to embrace the
People of God and all humanity. We realize once more that he wants to
make use of us to draw closer to his beloved people (cf. ibid., 268) and all
those who seek him with a sincere heart. In Jesus’ command to “go forth”,
we see the scenarios and ever-present new challenges of the Church’s
evangelizing mission. All her members are called to proclaim the Gospel
by their witness of life. In a particular way, consecrated men and women
are asked to listen to the voice of the Spirit who calls them to go to the
peripheries, to those to whom the Gospel has not yet been proclaimed.
The fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Decree
Ad Gentes is an invitation to all of us to reread this document and to reflect
on its contents. The Decree called for a powerful missionary impulse in
Institutes of Consecrated Life. For contemplative communities, Saint Theresa of
the Child Jesus, Patroness of the Missions, appears in a new light; she speaks
with renewed eloquence and inspires reflection upon the deep connection between
contemplative life and mission. For many active religious communities,
the missionary impulse which emerged from the Council was met with an
extraordinary openness to the mission ad gentes, often accompanied by an
openness to brothers and sisters from the lands and cultures encountered in evangelization,
to the point that today one can speak of a widespread “interculturalism” in the
consecrated life. Hence there is an urgent need to reaffirm that the
central ideal of mission is Jesus Christ, and that this ideal demands the total
gift of oneself to the proclamation of the Gospel. On this point there
can be no compromise: those who by God’s grace accept the mission, are called
to live the mission. For them, the proclamation of Christ in the many
peripheries of the world becomes their way of following him, one which more
than repays them for the many difficulties and sacrifices they make. Any
tendency to deviate from this vocation, even if motivated by noble reasons due
to countless pastoral, ecclesial or humanitarian needs, is not consistent with
the Lord’s call to be personally at the service of the Gospel. In Missionary
Institutes, formators are called to indicate clearly and frankly this plan of
life and action, and to discern authentic missionary vocations. I appeal
in particular to young people, who are capable of courageous witness and
generous deeds, even when these are countercultural: Do not allow others to rob
you of the ideal of a true mission, of following Jesus through the total gift
of yourself. In the depths of your conscience, ask yourself why you chose
the religious missionary life and take stock of your readiness to accept it for
what it is: a gift of love at the service of the proclamation of the
Gospel. Remember that, even before being necessary for those who have not
yet heard it, the proclamation of the Gospel is a necessity for those who love
the Master.
Today, the Church’s mission is faced by the challenge of meeting
the needs of all people to return to their roots and to protect the values of
their respective cultures. This means knowing and respecting other
traditions and philosophical systems, and realizing that all peoples and
cultures have the right to be helped from within their own traditions to enter
into the mystery of God’s wisdom and to accept the Gospel of Jesus, who is
light and transforming strength for all cultures.
Within this complex dynamic, we ask ourselves: “Who are the
first to whom the Gospel message must be proclaimed?” The answer, found
so often throughout the Gospel, is clear: it is the poor, the little ones and
the sick, those who are often looked down upon or forgotten, those who cannot
repay us (cf. Lk 14:13-14). Evangelization directed preferentially to the
least among us is a sign of the Kingdom that Jesus came to bring: “There is an
inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon
them” (Evangelii Gaudium, 48). This must be clear above all to those who
embrace the consecrated missionary life: by the vow of poverty, they choose to
follow Christ in his preference for the poor, not ideologically, but in the
same way that he identified himself with the poor: by living like them amid the
uncertainties of everyday life and renouncing all claims to power, and in this
way to become brothers and sisters of the poor, bringing them the witness of
the joy of the Gospel and a sign of God’s love.
Living as Christian witnesses and as signs of the Father’s love
among the poor and underprivileged, consecrated persons are called to promote
the presence of the lay faithful in the service of Church’s mission. As
the Second Vatican Council stated: “The laity should cooperate in the Church's
work of evangelization; as witnesses and at the same time as living
instruments, they share in her saving mission” (Ad Gentes, 41).
Consecrated missionaries need to generously welcome those who are willing to
work with them, even for a limited period of time, for an experience in the
field. They are brothers and sisters who want to share the missionary
vocation inherent in Baptism. The houses and structures of the missions are
natural places to welcome them and to provide for their human, spiritual and
apostolic support.
The Church’s Institutes and Missionary Congregations are
completely at the service of those who do not know the Gospel of Jesus.
This means that they need to count on the charisms and missionary commitment of
their consecrated members. But consecrated men and women also need a
structure of service, an expression of the concern of the Bishop of Rome, in
order to ensure koinonia, for cooperation and synergy are an integral part of
the missionary witness. Jesus made the unity of his disciples a condition
so that the world may believe (cf. Jn 17:21). This convergence is not the
same as legalism or institutionalism, much less a stifling of the creativity of
the Spirit, who inspires diversity. It is about giving a greater
fruitfulness to the Gospel message and promoting that unity of purpose which is
also the fruit of the Spirit.
The Missionary Societies of the Successor of Peter have a
universal apostolic horizon. This is why they also need the many charisms of
consecrated life, to address the vast horizons of evangelization and to be able
to ensure adequate presence in whatever lands they are sent.
Dear brothers and sisters, a true missionary is passionate for
the Gospel. Saint Paul said: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”
(1 Cor 9:16). The Gospel is the source of joy, liberation and salvation
for all men and women. The Church is aware of this gift, and therefore
she ceaselessly proclaims to everyone “what was from the beginning, what we
have heard, what we have seen with our eyes” (1 Jn 1:1). The mission of
the servants of the Word – bishops, priests, religious and laity – is to allow
everyone, without exception, to enter into a personal relationship with
Christ. In the full range of the Church’s missionary activity, all the
faithful are called to live their baptismal commitment to the fullest, in
accordance with the personal situation of each. A generous response to this
universal vocation can be offered by consecrated men and women through an
intense life of prayer and union with the Lord and his redeeming sacrifice.
To Mary, Mother of the Church and model of missionary outreach,
I entrust all men and women who, in every state of life work to proclaim the
Gospel, ad gentes or in their own lands. To all missionaries of the
Gospel I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét